Identical Strangers
by Moonshimmer Shadow-Phoenix
Summary: Kurt Hummel & Carson Phillips were as close as twins could be, until middle school all but separated them from each other. Now, exactly four years later, high school life seems to want to rekindle the brotherly bond they once had. Physically they're same, but as different as possible on the inside, neither boy sees a possibility for reconciliation. Will Glee change that for them?
1. Unity

**Identical Strangers**

_I own nothing. Deciding that my title of "Twinity Infinity" was way too stupid to use, I unceremoniously stole the title of this story from the memoir written by separated-at-birth twins Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein. Although this isn't labeled as a crossover story, Carson is the main character from Chris Colfer's film/book "Struck By Lightning". Everything else belongs to Ryan Murphy and the producers of Glee. I'm merely writing this story for my own entertainment._

_The only warnings I have are some bad language, minor adult themes, a slightly AU plot, and unintentional OOC-ness. The plot from the beginning to the end will be more or less canon, with just a character added, and all of the pairings will be canon compliant._

* * *

><p>Growing up, Kurt Hummel and Carson Phillips were as close as they could be. Just like most twins, they had this special sort of bond that outsiders could never understand, no matter how hard they tried. A connection that spat in the face of science and logic, a pull that reached deep down inside them.<p>

A shared soul.

They were born on May 27th, 1993. It was a rainy Thursday night when Elizabeth Phillips was taken to the hospital, quickly but carefully, by her dotting boyfriend Burt Hummel.

Everything went smoothly, and routinely. She gave birth to the first boy, named Carson Alexander, at about 10:47 PM, and exactly a half an hour later at 11:17 PM, little Kurt Elijah came into the world.

At the time they didn't know whether or not they would stay together or raise the children themselves, as their parents were both more than willing to play a part in taking care of the boys, so they were each given the surname of one of their parents.

When Elizabeth held them both in her arms for the first time, she was struck by how beautiful her babies were. They were identical, and had features of both of their parents. Both boys had dark little tuffs of chestnut brown hair on their tiny heads, and they had Burt's jaw line and unusually focused expressions despite being just hours old. From her, they inherited her creamy pale skin, which had been passed on from her own grandmother - an Irish-German immigrant.

It was their eyes that caught her attention though. They weren't the exact color of either of their parents, not quite Burt's pale grey-green, and not her own aquatic blue, but sort of a mix. They weren't hazel, lacking even a fleck of dark brown, but they glittered like little opals - clear and reflecting - and the unique color just made them _more_ unique in her opinion.

She promised to give them the best lives she possibly could.

* * *

><p>Although physically identical in every possible way, Kurt and Carson were very different babies when it came to personality. Kurt was the louder of the two - he constantly wanted attention, and he loved being rocked or sung to when he wasn't busy sleeping or eating. He enjoyed constant visual stimulation - colors, pictures, being in his parents' arms while they danced around - anything bright and fast that kept his attention.<p>

Carson, however, seemed to be more of an introvert. He didn't want as much attention from his parents, he was an observer. When he got old enough that noise didn't scare him, he liked to sit, propped up in his baby-carrier, watching his daddy work on fixing cars.

At night, rather than having Liz sing to him, he liked being read to. As he got older he demanded a different story every night, as he had no patience for repetition. It got to the point where the couple had to make up stories as they went along, but it seemed to entertain the little boy, watching his parents run around and trying to act out scenes from whatever tales they were telling him.

But just because they behaved differently, didn't mean they weren't still similar in some ways.

Both boys were incredibly sneaky, and intelligent. They often plotted against their parents when they were old enough to realize that being a twin had its perks.

For example, when they were four years old and it was almost time for dinner, Elizabeth would refuse to give them snacks first to avoid spoiling their appetites. Burt was at work, of course, so that left her to take care of both boys at once.

They came up with a plan; Kurt would knock over a chair upstairs and scream that he had hurt himself, and Elizabeth would tell Carson to just keep reading, not to touch the stove, and then she would go running. While she was gone, Carson climbed up on the counter and stole as many cookies as he could hide in his jumbo box of Crayola pencil crayons.

Upstairs, Kurt would tell Elizabeth that he was okay, he just bumped his knee (or some other body part), and then say that he wanted to play with his brother. After that, Liz sent Carson off to go upstairs while she finished making dinner, and twenty minutes later she would walk into their room to find them laying on the floor with stomach pains from shoveling down an entire case of chocolate chip cookies.

Honestly, they were such a pain sometimes, but she wouldn't trade them for anything in the world.

* * *

><p>Things weren't entirely perfect for the boys while they grew up, however.<p>

At age seven and a half, Kurt and Carson's mother became ill, and she was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer. It was terminal. Four months after the doctor's visit that confirmed the terrible news, she had to be taken to the hospital. Another two months later, and she was dead.

They both took the news very differently. Kurt was a complete, inconsolable mess. After the funeral, for three weeks straight, he claimed his parents' room as his own, sleeping on his mother's half and just hugging her pillow and crying. He loved Elizabeth's favourite perfume - Donna Karan's Cashmere Mist. Sometimes, for hours, he would just sit in the room and smell her, missing her endlessly.

Carson, however, completely withdrew into himself. He focused on reading more than ever, writing his own stories - usually ones involving Liz or characters based on her. It got to the point where he preferred living in his fictional worlds than living in the real world.

But their bond never wavered, not even once. Sure, they had fights sometimes. Who got to sit where, whose job it was to do the chores, what they would do their joint school projects on, and sometimes their little "Feuds" got down right bloody, by kids standards.

But they were never less than inseparable. It seemed like they could withstand anything life threw at them. Until one thing happened that would change their brotherly dynamic, seemingly forever... it happened when they were twelve years old.

Middle School.

* * *

><p>It was a crisp September morning.<p>

Carson and Kurt were both pretty excited to start middle school, and a bit nervous, but neither would admit it to their father - and they already knew how each other felt almost constantly.

They had to dress warmer, Autumn was coming and in Ohio it was coming fast, that meant no more shorts, T-shirts and sandals.

If there was one thing that allowed you to physically tell the twins apart, it was their style of dress. After Elizabeth passed on they started to develop more noticeably different personalities. Carson was far more quiet and laid back, and while he never hesitated to say what he was thinking (sometimes even forgetting to think before he spoke), he preferred keeping his feelings to himself.

Kurt was more of an attention seeker, and had been since he was born. He liked being in the spotlight. He was the louder and more boisterous one. And while both boys were well spoken, he was more refined. At a young age he would watch his mother get ready for the day, paying close attention to her hair and what clothes she wore when, and why she chose a certain type of makeup during the different seasons.

So it was no surprise that they liked completely different clothing. True, Kurt became more flamboyant after his mother passed, but he was always the bolder one when it came to fashion. He liked sewing things himself, and would have been happy to wear his "nice clothes", usually reserved for special occasions, every day, where as Carson would wear the same pair of jeans for days at a time, and didn't care once his sneakers got so old they fell apart and he had to get new ones.

On the first day of school, their differences really began to show.

Carson, being oh-so-casual, was ready to go out the door a half an hour before his brother. He was wearing a black Marvel t-shirt, a dark green hoodie, and a pair of faded blue jeans with black Converse sneakers.

When Kurt finally emerged from the bathroom at 8:45, Carson wisely kept his mouth shut about how long it took him. He learned over the years how sensitive his brother could be when it came to fashion. But the outfit was a little difficult not to poke fun at; he was wearing a cream-coloured cashmere sweater, a pair of dark grey dress pants, and his Nancy August dress shoes which Burt had bought for him to attend Uncle Andy's and Aunt Milly's wedding last year.

"I'm ready!" He said brightly as he adjusted his pale blue silk scarf he'd bought last weekend with his allowance, specifically for the first day of school.

Happy to finally get going, Burt Hummel quickly locked the door and ushered his boys out to the family car.

Little did they know that the day they were so looking forward to would permanently change how they viewed their relationship...

* * *

><p><strong>Dun dun duh! Well, that was the first chapter, I hope I did okay. I'm not so good writing the mindset of children, and this was really my first thought out attempt. <strong>

**Leave a review and tell me what you think so far!**


	2. Middle School

**Identical Strangers**

_I own nothing. Deciding that my title of "Twinity Infinity" was way too stupid to use, I unceremoniously stole the title of this story from the memoir written by separated-at-birth twins Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein. Although this isn't labeled as a crossover story, Carson is the main character from Chris Colfer's film/book "Struck By Lightning". Everything else belongs to Ryan Murphy and the producers of Glee. I'm merely writing this story for my own entertainment._

_The only warnings I have are some bad language, minor adult themes, a slightly AU plot, and unintentional OOC-ness. The plot from the beginning to the end will be more or less canon, with just a character added, and all of the pairings will be canon compliant._

* * *

><p>Lima East Middle School was a nice, and fairly large building. It was certainly bigger than the small family-oriented community area that surrounded it.<p>

It was a tall, three-stories-high, red brick building with a nearly flat, black tiled roof. It used to have a pointed top with a large brass school bell, but around twenty years ago a fire broke out that destroyed it and most of the school's third floor, causing it to need rebuilding.

The playground, surrounded by a squared-off wooden pit of small stones and pebbles, had a total of three connecting swing sets, a jungle gym with a set of monkey bars, a spiral slide, a fire pole, and a little underneath "house" area, with all sorts of different shapes cut out of the colourful plastic structures that were big enough to climb in and out of. While it was mostly designed for little kids, because it used to be a school for elementary and middle school students, the older children sat and hung around the place from time to time.

There was an area on the opposite side of the school property with a few trees and a garden, along with benches for them to sit on, and a picnicking table.

The concrete ground in front of the double-door entrance had spray-painted patterns meant for games - such as a basketball area (complete with a hoop), hop scotch, four corners, etc.

It was simple, really, with a friendly and energetic atmosphere.

Peeking through the fence momentarily, the boys both looked away from their new school in order to return the hug their father gave them as he bent down to their level, "You boys behave now, and have a good time. I'll see you when I come to pick you up at three, okay?"

"Okay, Dad." Carson said, while Kurt hugged back a little tighter, "Love you."

After that, the two boys watched their father get back into his car and drive away. Almost immediately, a feeling of dread fell over them. Something felt different about this place. School. Was it because they were older? How much different could middle school be from elementary?

Well, they certainly found out _that_ day.

* * *

><p>The bell for "indoor time" (as they called in in the lower grades) rang at about 9:10. Almost immediately, the "yard" teacher started rounding the students up and splitting them into groups depending on who their teacher for the year would be.<p>

Thankfully, Carson and Kurt both had the same one, a Miss Desai.

Once they were all lined up, a middle aged man with pale brown hair and light grey eyes walked outside and stood on the steps in front of the children and began to speak.

"Hello, staff and students. My name is Mr. Clarke, I'm the Principal of Lima East, and this is your Vice-Principal, Mrs. Donovan." He gestured to a short, plump woman wearing a pantsuit, with dark blonde hair and a friendly expression. She waved.

"We are so excited to be starting a new year with all of you. Now, most of you who have been here for the last two or three years know that we like to foster a safe, fun, and positive learning environment. But the sixth graders that are just starting here are still very new, so I want all of you bigger kids to do your best to make them all feel welcome, okay?"

"Yes, Mr. Clarke." Several of the older students droned out dutifully.

"Excellent! Now, I'll let Mrs. Donovan introduce you to the teachers this year." He said brightly and stepped aside to let the blonde take the stand, so to speak.

"Good morning everyone!" She greeted with much more enthusiasm than the man had, "I expect this year to be our best one yet! So, let me get through this quickly so we can get straight to the learning!"

Most of the kids seemed bored out of their minds, especially the older ones. Carson got the distinct feeling that they'd heard this exact speech a few times now, as the girls were talking amongst themselves discreetly and the boys, not even bothering to pretend they were listening, were cracking crude jokes and shoving each other in the lineup.

"First, our sixth grade teachers, Mr. Andrews," A man slightly younger than Mr. Clarke, with jet black hair and piercing green eyes, stepped forward. He was quite tall, and attractive apparently, as several of the seventh grade girls giggled when they saw him.

"Next is Miss Desai, she only joined our family last year but we're so happy to have her!" A woman who looked fresh out of college appeared. She was short, slender and beautiful, with dark golden brown hair combed over her shoulders, warm brown eyes and a caramel complexion. She didn't seem to be completely American, but she had a kind expression on her face.

It wasn't long before the introductions were over, and the teachers were leading their respective classes down the long, high-ceilinged hallways to the classrooms.

* * *

><p>Once they arrived in the classroom, Miss Desai spoke for the first time, her voice lightly accented, "Alright, class. This is where you'll be learning, starting from today until June 26th of next year. Now, I want you all to go and pick out where you would like to sit. Tomorrow I'll be making a seating chart of where each of you will be permanently assigned, if you have any problems at any time or you want to switch seats, just come talk to me at Recess."<p>

After placing their backpacks on the hooks in the "back room" (a little area partially obscured by a wall in the middle of the floor, with hooks and cubbies on the other side), they went to go pick out their seats.

Almost immediately, Carson and Kurt walked next to each other to sit at the upper left side of the classroom. Kurt liked looking out the windows a lot, and Carson had a bit of trouble seeing if he sat at the back of the room - he had an appointment to see the optometrist next week.

"Before we begin, I'm going to pass out some sheets that you should bring home to your parents and have them sign, that way you have permission to use the school computers and, if you want, participate in extracurricular activities like soccer or baseball." Their teacher explained, before handing out the forms to each of them.

Once they had put them away in their backpacks, Miss Desai spoke again, "Alright class, now that we have that out of the way, I think it's time we introduce ourselves, since you're all new faces to me. So, we're going to go down the rows and I would like everybody to stand up and tell us a little bit about themselves."

One boy raised his hand, "What kind of stuff?"

"You know, the usual. You're name, some things you like, what you want to do when you're bigger." She offered as an explanation.

They started off on the right side rows, near the door. The first person to stand was a boy with short, dark messy blonde hair and hazel eyes, he was taller than the other boys and kind of lanky and awkward-looking, but his smile was bright and genuine. "Uh... my name is Jeff! I was born in Westerville, but I'm living with my mom's aunt here in Lima while they're away on business..." he scratched his head, trying to think of something else to say. "I like dogs, and I have a puppy at home, his name's Pepper. I also really like dancing." He finished happily before sitting back down.

The boy in the desk behind him stood up, he had short, shaggy black hair and dark brown-hazel eyes. He was dressed in all dark clothes that looked weird on most people, but seemed to work for him. He was also pretty pale. "...I'm Nick. I play the guitar and listen to music. My family recently moved here from D.C., and before that we lived in Atlanta. We move a lot. I like Pokémon I guess, and that's it." He gave a shrug and a half smile before sitting back down.

After that the twins pretty much drowned out the introductions, and Carson drifted in and out, kind of bored. But he forced himself to try to pay attention, not wanting to get on the teacher's bad side on the first day at a new school.

A pale, athletic looking boy with dark eyes and really short hair stood up, and he was really tall too. "I'm Noah Puckerman, but you call me anything but Puck or "Awesome" and I will destroy you!" He boomed, making some of the other kids (including Kurt) jump at the surprising loudness.

"Ahem... very nice to meet you No-I mean Puck, why don't you sit down and let the rest of the class introduce themselves?" Miss Desai suggested softly.

Among the other classmates was a short, brunette girl wearing a jean skirt and a red kitten sweater that Kurt immediately disliked her for, claiming the clothing was awful, a cute little blonde girl with her hair in pigtails that couldn't stop talking about how the new cat her parents brought home for her was an alien from outer space, and a small dark-haired boy with glasses who liked to dance and watch old-time movies.

When it came time for Carson to introduce himself, he stood up and Kurt automatically did so at the same time, because they were used to being addressed at the same time that when one was called upon, they immediately assumed both were wanted.

"My name is Carson-" he began, "And I'm Kurt Hummel!" His brother announced, "We were both born in Lima and we have the same birthday,"

Kurt piped up, "'Cause we're twins. Carson's older but only by a half an hour. I like reading Vogue and designing fashion and keeping up with celebrity trends. Someday I'm going to be a star on Broadway-" the brunette girl with the ugly sweater sat up at that, looking interested in him now.

"That's wonderful news, Kurt. And what about you, Carson, what do you want to be?" Miss Desai asked nicely.

"I'm going to be the best writer and journalist ever. Someday I'm going to be the editor of the New Yorker." He stated, and all the other kids (minus his brother) stared at him like he was crazy. He knew immediately that he would be rushing towards the metaphorical exit sign, counting down the days until he had a chance to escape.

He couldn't wait to grow up.

* * *

><p>The first few hours of class didn't go so bad, mainly because it consisted of them all telling each other about themselves, and the teacher explaining how the lessons would work and how their schedule changed each day to keep things fresh and interesting.<p>

And then, at 10:35, it was time for Recess (or a "nutrition break"), where they got to eat a snack from their packed lunches and then go outside for some fresh air.

Once they got outside, Carson sat down on the steps by the door, planning to use the next twenty-five minutes to read Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, which he had received for his twelfth birthday last May, a couple of months after its release. He'd read it before, but he loved it, and was finding out that he enjoyed learning about mythology. He couldn't wait for Rick Riordan to release a sequel.

Kurt joined him a few minutes later, since he always went to the bathroom to do God-knows-what before he went outside, it had been like this for a long time. When he saw what his brother was doing, he frowned, "Are you reading that book for like the millionth time? That's boring!"

"It is not the millionth time, you exaggerator." Carson said without looking up, "It's only the fourth time, and so what? I like it. You did give it to me, after all."

Kurt dusted off the space next to him before sitting down, "Because I knew that's what you wanted. But it's the first day, let's go do something else!"

He raised an eyebrow, "Like what?"

"Uh, I don't know. Socialize? Explore the school grounds?"

"No."

"Please? Please, please, please-"

"Okay, fine." Carson huffed, knowing his twin wouldn't let up until he agreed, but he wasn't really mad. He and his brother did everything together, and it was kind of nice. Besides, his hands were a little cold in the wind right now.

He bookmarked TLT and stuck it in the extra large pocket of his sweater, before reaching automatically to take Kurt's outstretched hand.

"C'mon." Kurt said, as they started walking, matching each other's pace perfectly. "Miss D seems really nice, huh? She's got a pretty voice and her top was cute."

"Yeah, I guess." Carson really didn't give a crap about what clothes other people wore. Hell, he barely cared what _he_ was wearing, so of course he didn't pay attention to that sort of thing. "She had an accent, it sounded Eastern Indian, or something like that."

His younger brother nodded in agreement as they kept walking, and just then the student from their class earlier, the loud one, shoved past them, "Watch where you're going, losers!"

_'He ran into us! Idiot!'_ Carson twitched, "Who're you calling a 'loser'?" he demanded. He didn't like being called names, but he especially didn't like it when people called _Kurt_ names.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I st-t-tutter?" He said mockingly, "Or is there another pair of freaky clones around here? Why are you guys holding hands, are you freakin' gay or something?" He laughed at them as he walked off.

Feeling his face flush with anger and embarrassment, Carson let go of his brother's hand and glared in the direction of what's-his-face, Buck or something, not noticing the hurt look on Kurt's face. He hated this school already. But he had the feeling that this would only be the beginning.

* * *

><p><strong>And that's the first official "chapter" I suppose. Next up, time-skipping to McKinley, four years later.<strong>


	3. Drifting

**Identical Strangers**

_I own nothing. Deciding that my title of "Twinity Infinity" was way too stupid to use, I unceremoniously stole the title of this story from the memoir written by separated-at-birth twins Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein. Although this isn't labeled as a crossover story, Carson is the main character from Chris Colfer's film/book "Struck By Lightning". Everything else belongs to Ryan Murphy and the producers of Glee. I'm merely writing this story for my own entertainment._

_The only warnings I have are some bad language, minor adult themes, a slightly AU plot, and unintentional OOC-ness. The plot from the beginning to the end will be more or less canon, with just a character added, and all of the pairings will be canon compliant._

* * *

><p><strong><em>Four Years Later...<em>**

* * *

><p>Sixteen-year-old Sophomore student Carson Phillips watched silently as the tyrannical Coach Sue Sylvester pushed her cheerleaders to the absolute limit. The weather in September was exceptionally cold this year around, and yet they somehow managed to prance around half naked and smile about it. Still, despite how much he despised the cheerleader stereotype as a whole, he couldn't hate them all as individuals. Hating someone took way too much effort. But even <em>he<em> of all people could feel some pity for them. They worked endlessly hard for very little appreciation from their teacher, and they were _good_, too, he could see that.

He might have been cynical and pessimistic, but it was pretty obvious how much they worked to stay in perfect synchronization. As the top bitches of William McKinley High School, they were all expected to be flawless, no matter what. He understood why, though. The pressure to protect one's reputation was stronger in high school than any other grade before. And the coach of their squad - annoyingly named the Cheerios - was a warped type of perfectionist. Sue was never satisfied, even when her girls and boys had mastered her absurdly outdated and yet impressively (though needlessly, in his opinion) complicated routine. He could almost feel sympathetic, _almost_. But they made their beds, so if they got screwed in them it was their own fault.

Personally, he would have never willingly signed up to be abused by some power-hungry old hag, but maybe they were gluttons for punishment or whatever. Really, the only reason he spent the mornings watching them was because he had nothing better to do. He'd already finished the book he brought with him, since he'd shown up early to school again.

Admittedly, it was mostly to avoid getting ready at the same time as his family. Things had gotten...weird after their mom died, and he ended up drifting apart from both his father and brother.

Checking the time, he uttered a quiet sigh, realizing class would begin soon and he had better get going. Not that watching Sue bully and verbally abuse a bunch of little teenage girls wasn't so much _fun_, but thank God he only had two years of school left until sweet, sweet freedom. At least this was a class he actually enjoyed - English 10 Honors.

* * *

><p>Carson was a rather independent guy. He never asked for help in class, and he was intelligent, no one could deny that. Not that they ever did. He had a snarky and cold attitude that tended to make people dislike him rather quickly. People rarely bothered to talk to him anymore. He didn't care, as he preferred being in his own head, or reading anyways. He enjoyed his English class though, it was by far his favorite this semester. Literature had always been something he liked. Not only was it a pastime, but a way to express himself and escape from the struggles of the outside world.<p>

Originally, in the beginning of the year, he had chosen Spanish class. If he wanted to be a writer that people liked or related to, learning new languages could never not be useful at some point. However, by the end of the first day he dropped the class and switched over to English 10. as had been recommended to him, when he realized that the teacher, Mr. Schuester, didn't actually know a lick of Spanish. He had been reading from a translation dictionary for God's sake. If he wanted to waste time he would have skipped class altogether, and if he wanted to get into his dream college - Northwestern University - than he had to spend his time in school actually learning, and not just pretending to like the rest of the idiots here.

Currently, the brunette teen was sitting by himself at a lone table underneath the shade of the looming school building. Once Sue stopped berating her cheerleaders, he turned his attention to the rest of his surroundings. He watched as other students passed him, ate their lunches, and in general did things that affected his life in absolutely no way. It was intriguing to him. He felt indifference to almost every single one of them, and yet it fascinated him to watch people. He learned so much about people by simply observing. Or by reading. To him, it was so much better than participating.

Not to mention keeping to himself made his life a lot easier. He knew for a fact that several of the biggest bullies around ruled the school - like the jocks and cheerleaders. Some of them were Puckerman, the same jerk that tormented him and Kurt since middle school, his friends - including Finn, the dopey quarterback for the Titans, and his bitchy cheerleader girlfriend Quinn Fabray, and her two best friends Brittany and Santana. The only reason he knew their names was because he tried his best to avoid them.

He wasn't afraid to get into a confrontation with someone, especially not those future janitors and cattle farmers, and he could easily out-smart and verbally take on each and every person at the school, but to be honest, he wasn't a big guy. He was tall, sure, but he didn't have the muscles to back it up like Puck did, or the weight to tackle someone who pissed him off like Finn or Karofsky.

He found it easier to just stay out of their way and mock and insult them silently.

Unfortunately, his brother didn't quite think that far ahead...

* * *

><p>It was early in February, 2006. Carson had gotten home about ten minutes ago, had showered and changed into some warm clothes - as the ones he'd worn to school had more or less been soaked by icy cold snow and slush - and curled up on the couch with the newest book he had purchased from the bookstore down the street; The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, by John Boyne.<p>

Burt had the afternoon off today and was sitting at the kitchen table with a beer and that day's newspaper, when he wondered out loud, "I wonder what's taking Kurt so long?"

Seeing as he was the only other person in his father's presence, Carson glanced up over the pages of his novel and looked at him, "How should I know?"

"Well, you two _are_ brothers." _'Way to state the obvious, Dad.'_

He shrugged, "Yeah, but it's not like we hang out or walk together or anything." He and Kurt had drifted apart in the last six months. Not just because their interests varied so much, but because their peers weren't too kind to a set of boys that looked, sounded and acted alike being all...in unison, and holding hands on the playground and in general being touchy-feely. It took them awhile to realize that wasn't how other non-identical siblings behaved.

And at the realization that they were the ones considered weird, well, it certainly hadn't fostered their relationship, that was for sure.

He didn't notice the look Burt was giving him, having gone back to his book, when the door opened and a very cold, very wet Kurt stepped through the door. His jacket and the rest of his clothes were soaking wet, and his face and hands were bright red from the biting, icy temperature. Even his hair was doused. He was shivering badly.

"Kurt?" Their father asked worriedly, putting down the paper and moving to his son's side, "What happened, are you okay?"

"F-f-fine Dad..." Kurt stuttered out, his teeth chattering and lips sticking together. "Just...some of the other kids t-thought it would be funny to...to pour a bucket of water over my head."

Carson glanced up at that, surprised, and Burt looked furious. "Why would they do that?"

"Noah called me a queer..." he shifted uncomfortably, "And I said "take's one to know one" back because he was being a jerk, and he got really mad, so him and his friends grabbed me and dumped a bucket of slush water over me, that's all."

The older of the two boys groaned, while looking completely unsympathetic, "Kurt, are you stupid? I told you to just ignore that guy. If you piss him off he could crush you!"

"Carson, watch your mouth." Burt berated him, before turning back to his younger child, "C'mon, let's get you warmed up. You go shower and get changed, and I'll make some hot chocolate and we can watch something on TV, alright?" He made a mental note to talk to the principal the next chance he got about this.

_'As long as it's not sports.' _Kurt thought to himself, feeling tired and frostbitten, as he took off his boots and jacket, before trudging downstairs towards the bathroom.

* * *

><p><strong>So, yeah, this is basically Carson's POV from the first day of tenth grade. Next will probably be Kurt's, and don't be surprised if I put flashbacks in new chapters regularly, but I'll make sure you can tell whether it's present time or the past. Hope you enjoyed it!<strong>


	4. Divided Road

**Identical Strangers**

_I own nothing. Deciding that my title of "Twinity Infinity" was way too stupid to use, I unceremoniously stole the title of this story from the memoir written by separated-at-birth twins Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein. Although this isn't labeled as a crossover story, Carson is the main character from Chris Colfer's film/book "Struck By Lightning". Everything else belongs to Ryan Murphy and the producers of Glee. I'm merely writing this story for my own entertainment._

_The only warnings I have are some bad language, minor adult themes, a slightly AU plot, and unintentional OOC-ness. The plot from the beginning to the end will be more or less canon, with just a character added, and all of the pairings will be canon compliant._

* * *

><p>Kurt Hummel hated the fact that he and his brother were like strangers living under the same roof. He had no idea when their relationship became so strained...and that was a complete lie.<p>

He knew exactly when it had happened: Middle School.

He hated it.

Well, he had hated most of school. Especially after his mother died, but having Carson by his side made it all almost bearable. Still, he had to admit that grades Pre-K through 9 so far had only taught him two things: run like hell when a big kid got close to you, and how to smell bullshit from a mile away.

Truthfully, he wanted Carson back, he wanted to have him as a friend, a confidant, and an older brother again.

But he didn't know how to make it happen, and had no idea what he should do to even begin mending that broken bond.

So he did nothing.

* * *

><p>Sometimes, Kurt wished he could be more like the popular kids - the cheerleaders and the football jocks. He wished he had a big group of somewhat close friends that protected each other and had all of the same interests. A group like that had to be impenetrable.<p>

Only, he didn't want to be exactly the same as them. He just wanted the harassment to stop, plus he liked being an individual. Popular or not, he wanted to make an impression at this school.

Sighing as he opened his locker to get his French textbook out, he wondered if it was too much to ask for one good, close friend. Someone he could confide in, someone who cared about him, someone that he could share all of his secrets with - even his biggest one of all...

Was that too much to ask?

_"But you had that relationship with Carson once, remember?" _A small, annoying voice nagged in the back of his mind. _"You can have it again, you just need to take the first step."_

"Shut up." Kurt muttered out loud, causing several other students in the hallway to turn and look at him. He all but hid his face in the locker, quieting himself. _"Why should I make the first step? Why can't he? Besides, we aren't kids anymore. All we ever did was stay up 'till all hours watching bad horror flicks, eating junk food to the point we were sick, and then slept in the same bed because the movies had scared us. Who wants to have that?"_

He would never admit to himself that he did.

* * *

><p>It was lunch time and Carson was hanging out on the bleachers in the gymnasium, typing away at his laptop which he received for his sixteenth birthday. It was a really expensive one, which he'd asked his father for in lieu of a new car, something that Kurt had wanted.<p>

At the moment he was just messaging some of his friends (okay, he didn't actually have friends, more like "pen pals") in the Northwestern University chat rooms. They were all kids like him - from shitty home towns who wanted to go to an important college and make something of themselves.

He was drifting in and out of his thoughts when a beep informed him he had a new message.

DreamerGirl1992 had asked him, _"So, where is Lima anyways?"_

Frowning a bit, he considered how to best respond to her. He could just say it was in Allen County, Ohio. But she probably wouldn't know where that was either. No one did, because Ohio sucked. No one gave a crap about this place.

Instead, he wrote back, _"It's where the Grapes Of Wrath ended."_ And that was putting it nicely.

Just then, he heard the obnoxiously grating sound of the Cheerios laughing. Quinn, Santana, and a couple of other girls whose names he didn't know were all sitting perched on the bleachers, a few feet down from him, watching something on their own computer.

A moment later, he heard singing, and realized they were listening to someone covering a song from that Broadway play, movie, musical... whatever it was.

Les Misérables.

He only recognized it because Kurt had made him watch it about a dozen times when they were younger. He certainly didn't have his brother's passion for music, but he could appreciate talent when he saw it.

He realized then that the cheerleaders were laughing at the video, which someone had posted on their MySpace account.

Because he was nosy and curious, Carson muted his laptop and brought the video up. Who he saw surprised him, slightly.

Rachel Berry.

He only knew her because they'd had the same teacher in the sixth grade, and she made an impact on everyone she met. She was loud, full of herself, rude...and admittedly a pretty amazing performer. He had the pleasure of hearing her sing shortly before her ego grew to the size of the New York skyline.

Scrolling down, he passed the video, and started reading from the comments section.

They were all just as cruel, heartless and disgusting as he thought they would be.

_"If I were your parents, I'd sell you back." - Sky Splits_

_"I'm going to scratch my eyes out." - Hi Ho Cheerio_

_"Please get sterilized." - The Cheerios_

_"I thought lesbians were supposed to be hot?" - Queen B_

_"Demon spawn, your fag fathers should burn just for producing something like you." - AzJock_

_"Get a nose job. Maybe with that big honker out of the way you'll be able to see yourself in the mirror before you get dressed in the mornings." - High Jumper_

It was horrible. He didn't understand how people could do something like this. Didn't they realize that not thinking about your words before you use them could permanently effect someone without you realizing it?

He shook his head and closed the laptop.

* * *

><p>Later that night, Carson was sitting in his room, staring at his laptop which he had sitting on his writing desk. He kept thinking about Rachel, and how she would react to those comments.<p>

Carson liked to think he was a good judge of character. And the moment he met Rachel Berry an alarm went off in his head.

She was one of _those_ girls.

Highly ambitious but insecure and, just like every other hormonal adolescent, certainly not immune to criticism, especially not from her peers. She acted like the bullying didn't bother her, but of course it did. It bothered everyone to some degree.

He wasn't attracted to Rachel, not at all. He had yet to meet someone who caught his interest that way. In fact, for about a week in middle school he had thought he was gay (he's pretty sure everybody questions their sexuality at some point in life), but he later realized it was just that he found all of the girls surrounding him so repulsive he was looking for any alternative.

Still, he wasn't afraid to admit Rachel was pretty. More so than the Cheerios seemed to think. But then again, anyone who wasn't exactly like those robots had to of course be ugly, untalented, unpopular and unintelligent. Because of course that's how the _real world_ worked in their deluded minds.

Deciding he couldn't stand it any longer, he stood up and plunked down in front of his computer, opening up MySpace and deciding to make an account quickly. He hadn't had one since he was thirteen, but whatever.

He thought of using his real name, before deciding against it. Instead, he chose the penname "Flightless Phoenix". It wasn't one of his best pseudonym, but he wanted to get this out there quickly, before Rachel headed off to bed or whatever.

He went down to her video, put his headphones on and listened to her singing "On My Own". While listening, he posted a comment on her video, _"Nice pipes, Shortie. No doubt you'll get out of this place and make it to Broadway someday. Don't listen to those skanks, everyone knows Syphilis can cause blindness and hearing loss. Chin up." _He kind've hoped the Cheerios saw it.

It wasn't like him to be so...nice. But he could be when he wanted too. He just hoped he could help Rachel keep holding on no matter what the popular kids thought.

The world would be much happier without one more devastated teenager driven to killing herself by a bunch of close-minded bitches.

He didn't realize that one comment would lead to something unpredictable.

* * *

><p>That night at the Hummel residence, Burt and the twins were sitting silently at the table, eating in uncomfortable quietness as usual.<p>

Burt glanced over at his boys for a moment, and sighed to himself, realizing that, once again, neither of them would willingly volunteer to speak first. "So, boys, anything interesting happen at school this week? You enjoying it so far?"

Carson spoke first after that, deciding to ignore the ridiculous second question and focus on the first. "Well, my classes are pretty cool I guess, English is my favorite of course." His father cracked a smile and nodded. "I re-joined the team to write for the Muckracker, that's the school newspaper. I also asked Principal Figgins if I could start my own writing club for the school and he said that as long as I can get enough people interested he'd agree."

"That's great, Kiddo! I know how much you love writing and reading, that'll be good for you, I have no doubt that you'll get that club up and running in no time." He turned to his youngest son then, "What about, Kurt? Any interesting extracurricular you've signed up for?"

Kurt instinctively looked over at his twin, to see him pointedly looking away. Carson had been less than pleased when he found out his brother had joined the least popular, most bully targeted club at school. "I joined Glee Club. The old teacher, Mr. Ryerson, got fired for inappropriate conduct with a student, so the Spanish teacher Mr. Schuester took over." he smiled a little, "We only have six members so far, and we need twelve to compete, so we have to keep looking if we want to keep the club running."

"Well, I'm sure with your determination you'll get the members you need." Burt nodded encouragingly, "Hey Carson, you ever thinking about joining Glee?"

He nearly choked on his spaghetti, and swallowed hard, "I...what? Are you kidding? No!" He blurted out, "If I want people to hate me I'll just become a politician." He stood up abruptly, "No offense Kurt, but we both made our choices. I choose to willingly keep to myself and not print a giant, neon-coloured target on my back. Sorry." He quickly turned and walked back to his room.

He didn't want to even think he'd be tempted to join something like that. He already had zero friends, the last thing he needed was to make the cheerleaders and jocks hate him more than they already did.

Still, a part of him wished he _could_ do something to get close to Kurt again.

He missed him.

* * *

><p><strong>Uh-oh, what do you think will happen? Do you want to see Carson interact more with other characters? Kurt? Rachel? The Glee club? The Cheerios? Let me know!<strong>

**Next chapter will probably have the first real glimpse of the Glee club.**


	5. Cybernetic

**Identical Strangers**

_I own nothing. Deciding that my title of "Twinity Infinity" was way too stupid to use, I unceremoniously stole the title of this story from the memoir written by separated-at-birth twins Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein. Although this isn't labeled as a crossover story, Carson is the main character from Chris Colfer's film/book "Struck By Lightning". Everything else belongs to Ryan Murphy and the producers of Glee. I'm merely writing this story for my own entertainment._

_The only warnings I have are some bad language, minor adult themes, a slightly AU plot, and unintentional OOC-ness. The plot from the beginning to the end will be more or less canon, with just a character added, and all of the pairings will be canon compliant._

_**A/N**: If any of you notice that my fourth chapter for this story looks or sounds different today, it's because I accidentally deleted the chapter document last night while editing out spelling errors, and had to re-write it once I realized what had happened upon waking up this morning. I tried to make it as close to the original fourth chapter as possible. Sorry if I confused anyone._

* * *

><p>Carson was walking down the hallway when he saw the cheerleading captain, Quinn Fabray, talking to Rachel, and almost immediately knew it couldn't be anything good. There was only one reason a girl like Quinn talked to someone of a lower social class than herself - to insult or threaten her. "Time for a little "girl talk", Man-Hands." She began by insulting her, predictably.<p>

"You can dance with him, you can sing with him, but you will _never_ have him." The fierce look in the blonde's cold green eyes clearly said that she would kill them both before she allowed Rachel to take anything from her, especially her boyfriend. He could only assume that was what this was about, given that he over heard Kurt saying that quarterback Finn had joined or re-joined the club, something along those lines.

Not to be talked down to, Rachel gave the pretty blonde a genuine smile, "I understand why you'd be threatened." She said, and Quinn's expression flashed with anger, before she rolled her eyes. "Finn and I have made a connection, but I'm an honorable person. I don't need to steal your man, I have plenty of suitors of my own." A lie, of course. But she said it so confidently that it was hard not to believe. She started walking backwards, away from Quinn, "Every day Glee's status is going up and yours is going down. _Deal with it_."

Just as she turned around, Puck and one of his lackies from the football team walked passed Rachel and one right after the other, tossed a blue slushie right into her unsuspecting face.

He saw the look of shock take over Rachel's expression as the icy drink stunned her momentarily, before she took off running towards the female students washroom.

Alright, despite his belief that there was no point in hating people, if there was ever someone he would hate, it would _have_ to be Quinn Fabray.

He may have actively tried to avoid her and her posse the majority of the time, but that was mostly because their first interaction hadn't been all that great.

* * *

><p>It had been December in his Freshman year, when it happened.<p>

He had been walking towards his Mathematics class when he saw a blur of silky blonde hair and a cruel pink-lipstick-smirk before something colder than the Atlantic ocean hit him straight in the face. He let out a gasp, unintentionally, shocked and confused by what had occurred.

It took him a moment to realize the girl in front of him, cheerleader Quinn, had just thrown a slurpy or whatever it was called in his face.

Sure, he'd heard of students doing that to other students at this school, but it was his first time experiencing it. Now he understood what they were talking about. It really _did_ feel like getting bitch-slapped by an iceberg.

"_That_," she spat out, "Was for calling my boyfriend an overweight ape yesterday." She had a fake grin and a fake tone to go with her (most likely) fake-face.

He wiped his face of the sticky red slush using the back of his hand and glared at her with icy cold blue eyes, "My apologies," he said in the same sickly sweet voice she had used, "To the _apes_, at least. I shouldn't have insulted them like that. Just like your little puppy lover shouldn't have helped Puckerman and Azimio toss my _little brother_ in the garbage yesterday, _twice_." Even if he and Kurt didn't get along, he still looked out for his twin, without him knowing of course.

"He deserved it." Quinn said flippantly, tossing her hair over one shoulder, before placing both hands on her hips, "He dresses like he's going to Pride every day. This is Ohio, not California. You can't expect to act like a queer little freak and get away with it. Besides, it goes against God. It's _unnatural**."**_

"So is your fake blonde hair and nose job." He snapped, and saw the look of shock and horror on her face, and he knew he'd gotten it right. Truthfully, Kurt had never come out to him - or anyone, as least as far as he knew - but a brother _knows_. The kids at this school had just assumed he was gay because of how he dressed, but Carson had known since they were toddlers...because he _knew_ everything about his twin.

And he was _not_ about to let anyone attack his sibling, especially when Kurt wasn't even around to defend himself. Hell would freeze over first.

Clenching his teeth together for a moment, Carson got so close that her eyes flashed with fear as she backed up against a locker, clearly not expecting him to become confrontational. "Listen, you horrible, nasty little _bitch_." Students gasped around them, but he was going to take advantage of the fact she was alone for once. "No one deserves what you've put people through, especially not Kurt. He's probably one of the most open-hearted and decent people I know."

"Because that means_ so much_ to me." She muttered sarcastically under her breath.

Feeling at the end of his rope, Carson jabbed her in the torso with his fingertip and hissed, "I hope you get knocked up and spend the rest of your pathetic, worthless, miserable existence in this backwards-ass cow town as the local alcoholic's battered wife! Then _maybe_ you'll understand what it's like to be terrified of the one place you should be safest at!" It had been a bit wordy, but he'd gotten his point across.

He didn't bother waiting for her reply or reaction, knowing it would be more bullshit that came out of her mouth. Instead he turned around and stormed off towards the boys' bathroom to clean up the stickiness covering his face and neck. He did, however notice the stunned, horrified and impressed looks on the surrounding students faces.

Good, maybe that would teach this school.

No one messes with his family.

God, he hated bullies.

After that, Quinn never spoke to him or bothered him again, not even when he insulted or belittled her boyfriend and his buddies as a way of standing up for Kurt.

Of course, it didn't happen often. But then again, unlike Kurt, he knew how to defend himself, and how to say things like what he had to Quinn in order to shock them and put them in their places. He knew how to strike a nerve.

At the time, he had no idea whether anything he had said was true, but he knew how to make up things on the fly that would benefit him. Judging by her reaction, what he had said was at least partially true. Or maybe her looks were just a sensitive spot for her. He couldn't honestly care less, as long as she left his family alone.

He felt a sort of vindication when he looked back on that moment. If he made her feel even a fraction of the pain Kurt had suffered, emotionally and physically, since starting high school, that would make whatever she did as an eventual retaliation worth it.

* * *

><p>Rachel Berry had to admit, her fellow students hadn't given the positive and loving reaction she expected to her videos that she posted regularly on MySpace to keep her voice rehearsed.<p>

She'd never tell anyone, or else they might use it against her, but reading the comments was somewhat crushing. She knew she wasn't the prettiest or most popular girl at school, that was Quinn. But... did they all really hate her _this_ _much?_ She knew she could be ambitious at times, and of course expected that to alienate others, but she hadn't expected them to be so harsh.

The more she read, the more disheartening they got. Blinking back tears, she wondered why she bothered keeping this stupid account. No one even _liked_ her at that stupid school.

She was just about to log off of her computer for the night when she saw a new comment on the bottom of her screen, one she hadn't seen before.

It was from someone calling themselves "Flightless Phoenix." The words made her eyes widen and a brilliant smile appear upon her face. _"Nice pipes, Shortie. No doubt you'll get out of this place and make it to Broadway someday. Don't listen to those skanks, everyone knows Syphilis can cause blindness and hearing loss. Chin up."_

Someone...liked her video? She had thought no one but her Dads and Mr. Schue actually believed in her. At the last part of the comment, she couldn't help but giggle. It seemed like this person went to her school, to know that she wanted to be on Broadway and that the cheerleaders hated her. She wondered who it could be.

Well, it didn't matter, not really.

Admittedly pleased by the one positive response she had received, she decided to send this person a private message, _"Hello there, my name is Rachel Barbra Berry, but then, you already knew that. I see you're a fan of my talent." _Sure, he or she was her only real fan, but she had to sound elegant or else they might lose interest.

She didn't expect to get a reply right away (or at all).

So when, just a few minutes later, a response popped up on her screen, she was unbelievably excited and a little nervous. What if she came off as sounding too stuck up?

Hesitantly, she checked the message.

_"Yeah, I know you. I go to McKinley too, but we've never really spoken. I've heard you sing once or twice before, you're in the new Glee club, aren't you?"_

Okay, it was a bit unnerving that this totally anonymous person knew who she was. Lima was rather small however - maybe she had her first stalker? That would be a milestone in her road to becoming a true star!

Even more excited, she quickly (but not too quickly) typed back. _"That's right. The New Directions are going to rise from the ashes of Rhythm Explosion and become legends."_

_"Rise from the ashes... like a Phoenix?" _they asked, adding a laughing face emoticon afterwards.

She smiled brightly,_ "LOL! I didn't even notice until you pointed it out. I guess it works, though. I'm excited, finally my chance to shine."_

A few seconds later, _"You're talking about the school pep rally tomorrow, right? Will you be singing?"_

Rachel's fingers stopped on her keyboard, the grin slipping off of her face, _"Yeah... but we'll probably get booed off of the stage. Our coach is making us perform a disco song, which would be awful in itself, but we have to do "Le Freak", ugh."_

_"...You mean the song by Chic, the one that was released in the 1970s?"_

_"That's the one."_

Phoenix (her new nickname for this person until he or she revealed their identity) didn't respond for a moment, worrying her. But when they did, she relaxed, and read over the reply, surprised.

_"Yeah, I can see why that would bother you. That song might be a classic, but no teenager is going to relate to it these days. Contemporary pop music is what's in. Everything is about drinking, riches, fame, sex, recreational drugs, and all that crap. I feel bad for you guys."_

The brunette girl paused for a moment then, her expression becoming thoughtful. All of a sudden, a light bulb clicked over her head, and she was grinning broadly, _"OMG, thank you so much!"_

_"...What for?"_

she could tell they were confused by the extra question mark.

_"You just gave me an idea that's going to save our performance, and quite possibly our reputation."_

She typed back,_ "I've gotta go, ttyl?"_

_"Sure thing, Shortie."_

Normally, Rachel hated being called short, but for some reason it seemed like an endearing sort of complement or pet name from this person. It made her happy. "_I can't wait to see it." _

And she couldn't wait to perform it.

Now she just had to get her fellow Glee-clubbers to agree to her fantastic, newly inspired idea.

* * *

><p><strong>What do you think? I definitely plan on having more chapters with interactions with other Glee characters, but as annoying as Rachel can be I honestly think she wouldn't have been so unfriendly to the kids in Glee if half of them hadn't bullied her before.<strong>

**It's hard to get over past hurt when half of the people you're around constantly have bullied you in the past (Puck, Santana, Brittany, Quinn). Don't worry, I still plan for it to be _mostly_ canon, but I want some fluffy friendship added in here.**

**Also, let me know if you approve of the possibility of a budding friendship between Rachel and Carson?**


	6. Pushing Boundaries

**Identical Strangers**

_I own nothing. Deciding that my title of "Twinity Infinity" was way too stupid to use, I unceremoniously stole the title of this story from the memoir written by separated-at-birth twins Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein. Although this isn't labeled as a crossover story, Carson is the main character from Chris Colfer's film/book "Struck By Lightning". Everything else belongs to Ryan Murphy and the producers of Glee. I'm merely writing this story for my own entertainment._

_The only warnings I have are some bad language, minor adult themes, a slightly AU plot, and unintentional OOC-ness. The plot from the beginning to the end will be more or less canon, with just a character added, and all of the pairings will be canon compliant._

* * *

><p>"Silence, children. Silence." Principal Figgins announced through the microphone, even though the gymnasium was pretty much quiet at the moment anyways.<p>

Carson had to admit, normally he would have ditched these stupid pep rallies, but after what Rachel had said yesterday when they were on MySpace, he wanted to know what this great idea that he had apparently inspired was. He would have asked Kurt, but... well he didn't have a reason exactly, aside from not wanting to.

He listened, bored, as the dark-skinned man went on about yet another ridiculous school-related problem, impatient. He just wanted to see the (probable) disastrous performance and then get out of here.

"We have a treat for you guys today," He stated, "Mr. Schuester?" He gestured for the Spanish teacher to take over, as a single person clapped and cheered somewhere in the bleachers. He was sitting at the very back, so he couldn't see who exactly it was.

"Uh, hi." Mr. Schue began, hesitantly, "Ah, when I went to school here Glee club ruled this place." He heard a few snorts of disbelief, but it didn't surprise him particularly. There was a time when music and performing arts students were considered gifted, and not homosexual or nerdy because of it.

He smiled at the huge gathering of students and teachers, "And we're on our way back." He seemed confident in this. "But we need some recruits to join the party. Now, I could tell you all how great Glee is-" Which would likely not work, because the students didn't care. "But uh, I think I'm gonna let some friends of mine show you instead."

Carson perked up a bit, making sure to keep his eyes open for Kurt and for Rachel. He wondered what they had planned, because being who they were, he doubted they would want to take the shit that would get thrown at them for performing disco in 2009, Mr. Schuester was naïve to think that _that_ was the way to get popular.

He moved out of the way as a kid ran forward to remove the microphone stand, and the bright red curtains parted from the stage, revealing the group of six wearing tight black pants and shirts underneath tighter bright blue tops. All of them were posed in a surprisingly suggestive position.

**_"Get up on this!"_**

**_"Ah, push it!"_**

They began strutting (or wheeling, in Artie's case) across the stage with attitude. The introductory shouts were loud, and completely in unison.

**_"Get up on this!"_**

**_"Ah, push it!"_**

Carson could feel the blood drain from his face. "_Oh my God, are they actually going to...?" _he couldn't finish the thought, but he was pretty sure he was gaping at them, knowing what was coming. _"Schue and Figgins are gonna kill them! If Sue doesn't get to them first." _

**_"Oooh, baby-baby! B-baby-baby!"_**

**_"Hey!"_**

**_"Oooh, baby-baby! B-baby-baby!"_**

The group all slunk forward on the stage, pointing at the crowd while running their hands sensually over their bodies. Both their words and dance moves were perfectly in sync, like a well oiled machine. He might have been impressed that they threw this together last minute, if he wasn't so stunned.

As the boys began to 'pop and lock' or whatever, the girls walked along the stage with one hand on the shoulder of the girl in front of them, pretending to smack her rear while thrusting their hips and grinding against the air.

**_"Get up on this! Ah, push it! Hey!" _**

**_"Get up on this! Ah, push it!"_**

**_"Get up on this! Sa-Sa-Sa-Salt and Peppa's here!"_**

**_"Get up on this! Sa-Sa-Sa-Salt and Peppa's here!"_**

The other five members all gathered around the wheelchair kid, Artie Abrams, and started dancing wildly around him, hips rocking back and forth while he began to rap. He was surprised, he didn't know the kid had a voice that deep, and certainly didn't expect it. He unzipped his blue hoodie as he pretended to spank the other girls - Mercy and Tara, or something. He hadn't paid much attention when Kurt told him about them.

**_"Now wait a minute ya'll. Now this dance ain't for everybody."_**

**_"Only the sexy people."_**

**_"So all you fly mothers, get out there and dance."_**

**_"Dance, I said! Holla!"_**

Carson paid more attention to the choreography than he normally would have, because damn, they were pretty fantastic. He wondered how they learned the moves so quickly. He felt bad, this must have been what Kurt was so excited about last night. He should have asked him, should have at least feigned interest.

He'd have time to feel guilty later, right now he focused on the performance they so obviously worked hard on.

**_"Sa-Salt and Peppa's here, and we're in effect!"_**

**_"Want you to push it, babe! Coolin' by day, then at night - working up a sweat!"_**

**_"C'mon girls! Let's go!"_**

**_"Let's show the guys that we know, how to become number one in a hot party show!"_**

**_"Now push it!"_**

At this point the girls had begun to rap the words while they all went from right to left across the stage, bending over periodically and slapping their knees, giving off attitude with every word and every move.

They crouched simultaneously and smacked their inner thighs, and that was the point where the students in the audience started to look more interested than they had before.

He couldn't see Mr. Schuester's face, but he was sure it looked hilarious right about now. He'd definitely have to give props to Rachel and Kurt later, this was genius! Likely to get them brutally killed by the faculty, but it was kind of amazing.

**_"Ah, push it! Push it good! Ah, push it! Push it real good!"_**

**_"Ah, push it! Push it good! Ah, push it! P-Push it real good! Ah, push it!"_**

**_"Uh uh! Uh uh! Uh uh! Uh uh!"_**

**_"Get up on this! Hey!"_**

**_"Get up on this!"_**

It was then that all six of them paired up, three girls with the three boys, arms wrapped around each other, rocking back and forth, grinding and slapping the asses of their partner. After that they all formed a line, hands on each other's shoulders, boy-girl-boy-girl-boy-girl, with Artie at the front and the black girl at the back, thrusting forward and backward for emphasis with their words.

Then, they jumped apart from each other and crossed their arms behind their heads, staring at the audience boldly as they continued thrusting.

The teachers started swaying and rocking out too, most of them seemed pretty into it.

That's when the quarterback took over, with the rest of the guys singing in the background. Rachel strutted over in front of him and bent at the waist so her hands were placed firmly on the ground, while Finn thrusted against her from behind.

Oh man, Quinn would not be happy about that at all.

**_"Yo! Baby-pop! Yeah, you! C'mere, gimme a kiss!"_**

**_"Better make it fast! Or else I'm gonna get pissed!"_**

**_"Can't you hear the music's pumpin' hard! Like I wish you would!"_**

**_"Ah! Now push it!"_**

Holy shit.

"Did he just...?" Carson trailed off, staring ahead in pure shock. Yep, it happened alright. His twin brother had just gone and smacked Finn Hudson right on the ass as he passed him on stage. Judging by the look on the jock's face, he sure as hell wasn't expecting it.

It might have been hilarious had it happened with someone else - _anyone else_, but knowing that guy his team might actually try to kill Kurt just for that, God knows Finn would do fuck all to stop it if they tried.

**_"Ah! Push it! Push it good! Ah! Push it! Push it real good!"_**

**_"Ah! Push it! Push it good! Ah! Push it! P-Push it real good! Ah, push it!"_**

**_"Get up on this! Ah, push it!"_**

**_"Get up on this! Aww! Ah, push it!"_**

**_"Holla! Get up on this! Ah, push it! Hey!"_**

The guys started swinging their arms at their sides while shaking as the girls did the pop and lock moves again, hissing seductively between each word that they sung.

All of the females pretended to give attitude towards the guys as they spun around and strutted away from them, and everyone began bobbing their heads up and down while marching in place. They were mechanical, while at the same time seeming very fluid with their motions.

Then Kurt, the Asian girl, and Rachel started crawling across the stage, before they paired up again. The girl with the insanely deep voice started dancing with Kurt, and Artie with the Asian chick, while Rachel literally climbed up Finn, arms around his neck and legs around his waist, and they actually began simulating sex with each other.

**_"Aaaahhhhh! Push it!"_**

And then it was over.

The Glee club stood silently on the stage, arms all wrapped around each other, frozen, waiting for the audience's reaction.

Jacob Ben Israel was the first to respond, leaping from his seat with a shout of "YES!"

Immediately afterwards, the entire gymnasium burst into wild applause, everyone standing at this point. Grudgingly, he stood up too and joined in clapping for them. They deserved it after all, that performance was flawless. A _tad_ too sexual, but that's what they knew high school students wanted.

Later that night, Carson sent Rachel another MySpace message, telling her all about what he thought of their performance.

Afterwards, he sat at his desk, contemplating the New Directions. Aside from the extremely stupid name, they were all pretty talented.

Sighing to himself, he knew what he had to do.

It was late. Kurt was in the middle of his before-bed skin moisturizing routine, perched on the chair in front of his vanity, when he heard a tapping on his wall. He turned, and stared in surprise, seeing his brother standing there, leaning against the railing of the basement stairs, giving him a hesitant smile, "Hey, Kurt."

"Um... hi, Carson." He said, a little hesitantly. What was he supposed to say? He didn't think his brother had spoken to him without anyone else present in months, if not years. The most private communicating they'd done was a text or a Facebook message. "Uh, so what's up?"

"I saw your performance in the gym today." He answered immediately.

Kurt felt his face turn bright red almost instantly. Carson was there? He saw everything? As in everything? That was embarrassing. He never actually planned on coping a feel with Finn, it was a spur-of-the-moment thing. He hadn't regretted it at the time, but now that he knew his twin had been in the audience, rather than skip the pep rally like always, he was starting to. "And...?" he asked, meekly.

Carson gave him a small, genuine smile, "I thought you guys were pretty awesome."

He did a double take. Carson was...complimenting him? Was he in the Twilight Zone or something? Unsure how exactly he was meant to respond to that, he settled for a simple "Thank you".

"I have no doubt you'll do great if you compete."

"We will," Kurt said immediately, since he'd been dying to tell someone. "I mean, if we get three more members. Three people joined the club after the pep assembly."

Still smiling, he nodded, "That's great, who are they?"

"Miss Sylvester's head cheerleader Quinn, and her two friends Santana and Brittany."

Carson froze in place, _"Oh crap." _There was no way in hell that would lead to anything good. All he could think about was Quinn tormenting Kurt, because she could. However, he didn't know for sure what her intentions were, nor did he want to crush is brother's hopes, so he just nodded and said, "That's great!"

_"Quinn Fabray, if you do anything to harm my little brother I will **end** you."_

With that thought, he said goodnight to his younger twin and headed off to bed, where he would lay awake for most of the night, thinking.

* * *

><p><strong>Thoughts? I know my descriptions of the choreography were less than great, but I tried. I'm hoping to improve as this story goes on.<strong>

**Let me know what you think of this chapter! Who wants to see more of Kurt and Carson (awkwardly) getting along again?**


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